The invention relates to a method for loading and unloading long-distance transportation means and for temporarily storing a standardized cargo, e.g. container, interchangeable body structures for trucks, in an intermediate storage facility.
The transport of goods is increasingly implemented in standardized receptacles, such as containers, tanks, because storage as well as transport of goods can take place at optimum space utilization. Also the use of standardized hoists is possible for loading and unloading so that loading and unloading can be mechanized in an especially simple manner.
Long-distance transportation means, such as, for example, railway freight cars, trucks, ships, are high-value investments which should have shortest possible downtimes. In addition, efforts are underway to maintain shortest possible overall transportation times, whereby loading and unloading, in particular of rail-bound vehicles, which involve trains of a length of few hundredths of meters, may be extremely time-consuming. On one hand, marshalling of such trains in classification yards is labor-intensive, on the other hand, make up of a train can easily be replaced by respective loading of the train, when uniform rolling material is involved, provided a respective logistics is available, namely during unloading, temporary storage and loading of a train and also other long-distance transportation means.
WO 99/10258 discloses a storage facility for arrangement of storage goods of random dimension on cargo carriers. The loaded cargo carrier travels for storage to a storage rack having vertical and horizontal conveyor devices. The storage facility is supervised by a data processing unit. Further provided is the assembly of smaller loading units at job sites to a size that corresponds to a large loading unit. The multiplicity of vertically aligned transport lanes and vertical conveyor devices as well as in horizontal direction results in complex constructions which are prone to malfunction because of their multiplicity.
EP 0 599 841 B1 describes a method and a device for transshipping containers. The containers are transported by trucks to the loading station and are removed by a hoist for transfer to pallets that roll on rails. The cargo together with the rolling pallets is stored in a storage facility. Loading of a railway train is realized by placing the cargo next to the track in desired sequence before the train to be loaded arrives so that the loading time of the train can be significantly shortened as the goods being transported have been pre-positioned and there is only need for placement of the containers upon the rolling material. The storage facility is managed by a data processing system. Proposed is also the use of conveyor belts instead of rolling pallets. Involved here is a complicated construction which is thus prone to malfunction.